Bags and carrying handles therefor



6, 1969 o. WAINBERG 3,463,331

BAGS AND CARRYING HANDLES THEREFOR Filed Feb. 8, 1968. 3 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTUR @Wm Owl Aug. 26, 1969 n. WAINBERG was AND cumme HANDLESTHEREFOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 H106 Feb 8, 1968 INVENZTUR S- 6, 1969 o.WAINBERG BAGS AND CARRYING HANDLES THEREFOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb.8. 1968 Z/NlI lENZ/"OR United States Patent 3,463,381 BAGS AND CARRYINGHANDLES THEREFOR Daniel Wainherg, 4755 Blvd. des Grande Prairies, St.Leonard, Montreal 38, Quebec, Canada Filed Feb. 8, 1 968, Ser. No.704,025 Int. Cl. B65d 31/00, 33/06 U.S. Cl. 229--54 Claims ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE The invention refers generally to a bag and carryinghandle therefor, which consists of a bag body portion that may be madefrom polyethylene or equivalent material, and is formed from a sheet ofsuch material which is folded in half and heat-sealed at its opposingvertical edges to complete opposing walls and a bottom wall and havingan open end or mouth. The upper portions of the opposing walls terminatein borders forming opposing longitudinal channels and surrounding themouth of the bag, the borders having slitted gaps, suitably spaced apartfrom one another, and located approximately intermediate of theirlengths, the carrying handle consisting of a pair of handle units madefrom a semi-stiff flexible material, each handle unit having a hand gripfrom which are suspended a pair of elongated base members which areinserted through the gaps of the borders into the longitudinal channelsthereof and are independently flexible and movable from each other in across-sectional plane and interdependently movable with one another in alongitudinal plane, and provided with integral fastening means fordetachably securing the handle units together to complete the handle.

The invention relates to improvements in bags and carrying handlestherefor as described in the present specification and illustrated inthe accompanying drawings that form a part of the same.

In the past, shopping bags and the like have generally been made fromsemi-stiff or pliable material and pro vided with carrying handles thatwere detachable therefrom or secured thereto. In certain instances thecarrying handles were constructed of rope, cord, draw-strings andequivalent structures, which engaged with apertures or other openingsformed through the walls of the bag and located at predeterminedpositions adjacent to the periphery of the mouth of the bag, or othertypes of flexible handles that could be sewn, stapled or otherwisesecured to the body of the bag.

Such types of structures have the tendency of pulling loose and tearingthe bags and also to dig into the flesh of the fingers or palm of a handof a person carrying the shopping or other type of bag provided withsuch types of carrying handles.

In other instances, the shopping bags and the like have been made frompaper, cloth, synthetic resinous materials, thermoplastics, vinylite,polypropylene, polyethyle ene and other heat-scalable plastic materials,and in which handles, made from stiff or semi-stiff materials, wereinserted and fixedly or detachably secured. In general these handles,made from rigid or semi-rigid materials, were composed of hand-gripportions provided with integral elongated and somewhat flat-shaped basemembers of lengths sufficient to extend along the width of the bags andsecured in any suitable manner to the bodies of the bags and locatedadjacent to their open ends.

Such types of structures have been found fairly satisfactory but stillhave the tendency of tearing the material of the bag, especiallyadjacent to the end edges thereof, which may occur through the weight ofthe contents of the bag pulling on the material of the bag, which inturn 3,463,381 Patented Aug. 26, 1969 effects a drag to the longitudinalbases of the carrying handles and thus causes the ends of thelongitudinal bases to dig into or penetrate through the walls of the bagand effect abrasions or tears in the plastic material of the bag, which,once started, will often enlarge to such an extent as to partially orcompletely demolish the bag.

Furthermore, the size of the opening or mouth of the bag is oftenrestricted due to insufficient longitudinal and lateral flexibility ofthe longitudinal bases of the handles, which are attached to or adjacentto the edges of the mouth of the bag and thereby adding to thedifiiculty of the user of the bag when packages or parcels of varyingsizes and shapes are inserted in the bag.

It is therefore the purpose of this invention to devise a bag and handlethat will permit the opening or mouth of the bag to be expanded to thedesired diameter for the insertion thereinto of items of various sizesand shapes and also to devise a combination of a bag and handle thatwill minimize the possibliity of abrasion or tearing of the bag materialwhen under strain caused by the weight of the contents in the bag.

Among the objects of the invention is to devise a bag and carryinghandle therefor made with the minimum of waste material and that willhave increased capacity and strength and which may be assembled byautomatic or manual means.

A further object of the invention is to construct a combination of a bagand carrying handle and in which the carrying handle is detachablly orfixedly held to or otherwise supported within specified longitudinalportions of the bag located adjacent to the opening or mouth thereof soas to reinforce the same in longitudinal and lateral directions and yetpermit the angular expansion of the opening or mouth of the bag, whichis emanated from the intermediate and end portions of the bag at itsperiphery, through the manipulation of the carrying handle, for thepurpose of allowing the easy insertion and removal of various sizedparcels or other items into the bag.

A still further object of the invention is to devise multiple individualsuspension means that form an integral part of each of a pair ofopposing hand grips for the completion of a carrying handle and whichare held or otherwise supported to certain longitudinal portions of thebag that are located adjacent to the opening or mouth thereof, and whichare adapted to absorb a proportion of thestrain and tension that may beapplied to the body portion of the bag, through the weight of packagesor other articles that are inserted therein, and effect a balanceddistribution of the weight of the contents in the bag.

Still another object of the invention. is to provide a polyethylene orequivalent body bag portion made of thin foldable film with semi-rigidpolyethylene or equivalent carrying handles for producing various typesof bags, such as shopping bags and the like, and which will be capableof carrying and supporting comparatively substantial loads with theminimum possibility of any tearing of the thermoplastic synthetic resinmaterial of which the body portion of the bag is made.

Other objects and novel features of the invention will appear more fullyhereinafter from the consideration of the following detailed descriptionwhen taken in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrative ofan acceptable form of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the bag without the carrying handle.

FIGURES Z and 3 are perspective views of the opposing hand grips of thecarrying handle and each being provided with integral multipleindividual suspension members. a

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the assembled bag andcarrying handle and illustrating the hand grips thereof detached fromone another.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the assembled bag andcarrying handle and illustrating the hand grips thereof in engagementwith one another.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the assembled bag and carrying handleand illustrating the mouth of the bag in its opened and angularlyexpanded position.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the assembled bag andcarrying handle and illustrating the mouth of the bag in its closedposition and having the hand grips of the carrying handle interlockedwith one another.

FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional view as taken on the line 8-8 in FIGURE 4.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the variousfigures.

Referring to the drawings, the bag and its accompanying handle may bemade from any suitable flexible material and formed of any desiredstyle, size, shape or configuration, and an acceptable form of which isshown in the shape of a shopping bag, as indicated by the numeral 15, inwhich the bag body portion 16 is made from a synthetic resinousmaterial, such as, thermoplastic, polyethylene, polypropylene or theirequivalent.

The bag body portion 16 may be formed of a sheet of the above-mentionedmaterial, which is folded in half and heat-sealed at its opposingvertical edges 17 and 18 to complete opposing walls 19 and 20, anintegral bottom wall 21 and an opening or mouth 22.

The upper portions of the opposing Walls 19 and 20, of the bag bodyportion 16, form the contour of the opening or mouth of the bag and areturned down to form the top edges 78 and 79, and from which they projectdownwardly and inwardly into the bag opening for a predetermineddistance, and then are heat sealed to the inner surfaces of the walls 19and and terminate in the longitudinal free edges and 26, therebycompleting the borders 23 and 24 which form the longitudinal channels 27 and 28, and in which the handle units 29 and 30*, of the handle 31,are inserted and retained therein.

Approximately intermediate of the length of each of the opposing borders23 and 24 of the bag body portion are a pair of cut-out portions,suitably spaced apart from one another, and which form the gaps 32 and33 having downwardly projecting slits 34 and 35 in the border 23 andparallel gaps 36 and 37 having downwardly projecting slits 38 and 39 inthe opposing border 24, these gaps and accompanying slits being for thepurpose of permitting the insertion or removal of the handle units 29and 34} in or out of the borders 23 and 24.

The carrying handle 31 consists of a pair of identically constructedhandle units 29 and 30 and are made from a semi-rigid polyethylene orequivalent material and relatively stiff in comparison to the materialof the bag body portion, and having greater flexibility in a transversedirection than in a longitudinal direction. The handle units are formedof inverted U-shaped hand grips 40 and 41 with integral bridge portions42 and 43 that are provided with bulbous portions 44 and 45 forconvenience of carrying. The bridge portions 42 and 43 terminate attheir ends into integral downwardly projecting posts 46, 47, 48 and 49;the posts 46 and 47 of the bridge portion 42 and the posts 48 and 49 ofthe bridge portion 43 terminate and merge with the longitudinal andindividually separated suspensions means, in the form of base members50, 51, 52 and 53 respectively.

The merging joinders 54, 55, 56 and 57 of each of the individuallyseparated base members 50, 51, 52 and 53 to their respective posts 46,47, 48 and 49 of the bridge portions 42 and 43 of the hand grips 40 and41 are so arranged that approximately one-third of the length of each ofthe base members will extend inwardly from their merging joinderstowards one another so that their adjacent ends 58, 59, 60 and 61respectively, will terminate short of one another at approximately belowthe location point of the centre of the length of each of the bridgeportions 42 and 43 while the remaining and longer lengths 62, 63, 64 and65 of the base members will extend outwardly from the merging joinders.

The base members of the hand grips are supple, elongated in shape andsubstantially flat and, when inserted in the longitudinal channels 27and 28 of the borders 23 and 24, are adapted to be of sufficient lengthto extend across the greater part of the width of the mouth of the bagbody portion.

The pair of handle units, that combined to form the carrying handle 31,are introduced to the bag body portion by inserting the longer lengthsof the base members into the gaps formed in the borders 23 and 24 thatsurround the sides of the mouth of the bag body portion and then slidingthe longer lengths into and partially through the longitudinal channelsthat extend outwardly away from the gaps and towards the heat-sealedvertical edges of the bag body portion.

Similarly the shorter lengths of the base members, that extend inwardlyfrom their merging joinders with the respective posts of their handgrips, are inserted into the gaps and partially through the intermediatechannels 66 and 67 and which are in alignment with the longitudinalchannels 27 and 28, thereby completing the assembly of the carryinghandle with the bag.

When it is desirable to close the mouth of the bag, the handle units ofthe carrying handle may be joined and secured together in any convenientmanner. An acceptable way of detachably securing the handle units of thecarrying handle to each other may be accomplished by having gripfastening means form an integral part of the handle so that the handleunits may be interlocked with one another and thereby completing theclosing and fastening of the open end or mouth of the bag.

The grip fastening means 68 consists in providing the downwardlyprojecting posts 47 and 48 of the respective hand grips 40 and 41 with apair of parallel ears 69 and 71 which extend outwardly and inwardly fromthe opposing vertical edges 71 and 72 of the posts 47 and 48 and areintegral therewith and which combine to form one of the gripping members73, while the other posts 46 and 49 of each of the hand grips 40 and 41are each provided with parallel channels 74 and 75 which are formed onthe opposing vertical edges 76 and 77 of the posts 46 and 49 and whichare on a horizontal plane to the location of the adjacent grippingmember 73.

When the handle units 29 and 30 are inserted and retained within theborders 23 and 24 of the bag 15, and the open end or mouth of the bag isrequired to be closed and fastened, the two hand grips 40 and 41 arebrought into face-to-face contact engagement with one another andthereby causing the gripping members 73, which project from certain ofthe posts of the respective hand grips, to engage with the channels 74and 75, which are formed from certain of the opposing and adjacent postsof the respective hand grips, and interlock therewith and therebyclosing and securing the handle units together and forming a singlehandle for carrying the bak.

The carrying handle is made from a semi-stiff flexible material and isso constructed that the two elongated base members of each of its handleunits are independently flexible and movable from each other in across-sectional plane and interdependently movable with one another in alongitudinal plane. In this manner, under normal conditions, such as inthe closed position of the bag, the elongated base members will be in alongitudinal alignment with one another, but are automaticallymisaligned when the open end or mouth of the bag is expanded ordistended, which itself is created by manipulation of the handle units.

Consequently through the freedom of movement of the elongated basemembers, that are located in their respective channels formed in theborders 23 and 24 of the bag and floatably suspended therein from theirrespective common hand grips 40 and 41, this will cause a balancingeffect, by the two handle units, to any load that is carried in the bagas it will tend to equalize the weight thereof on each side of theapproximate central vertical axis plane of the bag body portion, andwhere the free inner ends of the elongated base members of each handleunit are in adjacent proximity to each other and effecting anequilibrium to the weight or force of the load and which is produced bythe mutual counteraction of the two or more forces. This will furthercounteract, to a certain extent, the strain or force that may be exertedon the material which would disarrange or destroy the cohesion of itsparts, due to extreme torsion or tension.

The vertical ends of the bag have also space for expansion andcontraction which are controlled by the location and freedom of movementof the individual base members, such as when they are in misaligningpositions with one another, as well as controlled by the balancing ofthe weight and the force of the load placed in the body portion of thebag.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention,and as various changes might be made in the embodiment set forth, it isto be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in theaccompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

What I claim is:

1. In a bag and carrying handle therefor, a bag body portion made from apliable material and comprising a bottom wall, opposing walls forming anintegral part of said bottom wall and having their vertical edges joinedtogether and forming a mouth for said bag body portion, a carryinghandle consisting of a pair of semi-stiff flexible handle units, eachhandle unit having a hand grip, and a pair of individually formed basemembers suspended from and integral with said hand grip and beingretained to the upper portions of the respective opposing walls andlocated at the mouth of the bag body portion and having freedom ofmovement in connection therewith and having greater individualflexibility in a transverse direction than in a longitudinal direction.

2. In a bag and carrying handle therefor, a bag body portion made from apliable sheet of material folded in half and secured at its opposingedges to form opposing walls, a bottom wall and a mouth, opposingborders constituting the top edges of said opposing walls andsurrounding the contour of the mouth of said bag body portion andforming longitudinal channels and having gaps leading thereinto, acarrying handle made from a semi-stiff flexible material and formed of apair of handle units, each of said handle units consisting of aninverted U-shaped hand grip, and a pair of elongatedshaped base membersintegrally suspended from each of said hand grips and inserted in thelongitudinal channels of each of said opposing borders and beingindependently flexible and movable from each other in a cross-sectionalplane and interdependently movable with one another in a longitudinalplane.

3. In a bag and carrying handle therefor, as claimed in claim 2,characterized by the fact that intermediate of the length of each of theopposing borders are located a pair of cut-out portions, suitably spacedapart, forming gaps and downwardly projecting slits and through whichthe individually separated elongated base members are inserted andextend along the longitudinal channels formed in each of the opposingborders.

4. In a bag and carrying handle therefor, as claimed in claim 2,characterized by the fact that the inverted U-shaped hand grip of eachof the handle units is formed of a bridge portion having its endsterminating into integrally downwardly projecting posts, the lower endsof the posts terminating and merging with the elongatedshaped andindividually separated base members.

5. In a bag and carrying handle therefor, as claimed in claim 2,characterized by the fact that in the closed position of the bag theelongated base members of each handle unit are in a longitudinalalignment with one another and in the open position of the bag the saidbase members are automatically misaligned with each other and effectedthrough the manipulation of the integral hand grips.

6. In a bag and carying handle therefor, as claimed in claim 2,characterized by the fact that each pair of individual base members ofeach hand grip are supple, elongated in shape and substantially flat,and when inserted in the longitudinal channels of said opposing bordersare adapted to be of sufiicient length to spread outwardly from oneanother to extend across the greater part of the width of the bag bodyportion and to extend inwardly towards one another so that theiradjacent ends will terminate approximately midway of the bag bodyportion.

'7. In a bag and carrying handle therefor, as claimed in claim 4,characterized by the fact that the elongated base members extend beyondeach side of their respective posts and have their inner adjacent endsof their shorter lengths terminating short of one another atapproximately below the location point of the centre of the length oftheir respective bridge portions and having their outer ends of theirlonger lengths terminating well beyond the length of their respectivebridge portions.

8. In a bag and carrying handle therefor, as claimed in claim 4,characterized by the fact that grip-fastening members are formedintegral with the downwardly projecting adjacent posts of the hand gripsof said handle units and adapted to detachably secure the handle unitsto one another.

9. In a bag and carrying handle therefor, as claimed in claim 2,characterized by the fact that the folded sheet is made frompolyethylene or equivalent pliable material and is heat-sealed at itsopposing vertical edges to complete the opposing walls of the bag bodyportion, while the handle units, forming the carrying handle, are formedfrom a semi-stiff flexible polyethylene or equivalent material and havetheir elongated base members loosely enclosed in the longitudinalchannels of the opposing borders, the length of the base members beingso arranged as to leave a predetermined distance between the outeradjacent ends of the base members and the heat-sealed vertical edges ofthe opposing walls and thereby completing expansile end walls.

10. In a bag and carrying handle therefor, as claimed in claim 9,characterized by the fact that the expansile end walls together with theopposing walls form spaces of varying expansions and contractions andwhich are controlled by the location and freedom of movement of theindividual base members, as well as controlled by the balancing of theweight and force of any load placed in the bag body portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,313,040 6/1950 Miller 122,705,987 4/ 1955 Schulte 150-12 2,769,474 11/ 1956 Klotz ISO-12 DAVIST. MOORHEAD, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

